The present invention relates to a device for the control of pests such as insects, particularly cockroaches and to a method for controlling insect population using this device.
Chemicals for the control of pests are well known and commercially available. These chemicals must, however, generally come into direct contact with the pest to be eliminated in order to be effective. Achieving such contact presents a problem in environments where humans, particularly children, are likely to be present because effective pesticidal chemicals may also pose a health threat to humans. Efforts to achieve contact between pest and pesticide in environments such as homes have included the development of a number of different types of pesticide dispensing materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,335, for example, discloses dispensers for the controlled release of pest-controlling agents in which layers of materials containing active pest control and pest attractant substances are laminated to form sheets which may shaped into the desired form. Lamination is said to permit the prolonged, controlled release of the pest controlling substance. The forms in which these laminates are taught to be useful include wall paper, floor coverings, awnings, tarpaulins, upholstery, wall board, paneling, siding, countertops, ceiling tile, roofing materials, tapes or strips for tree branches and animal collars. Many of these disclosed forms are, however, too expensive to replace once the pesticide has lost its activity to be commercially feasible. The more practical strip applications are unsightly, ineffective against crawling pests such as cockroaches and present a potential health hazard to children.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,857,934 and 3,864,468 disclose activated polymer materials. In the materials disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,934, the pest repelling agent is incorporated into a nonporous polymeric material which material is used in combination with another non-porous polymeric substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,468 discloses materials in which the pest repelling material is adherently applied to a polymeric substrate. These activated polymer materials are taught to be useful in the form of rigid or flexible sheets or films, in single or multiply products including laminates incorporating a rigid substrate or flexible scrim or other woven or non-woven reinforcing, backing or facing components.
No particular shape is recommended as being especially desirable in any of these disclosures. However, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,031,653; 4,132,026 and 4,541,198 each disclose devices for controlling rodents in which a device having a specific configuration must be employed.
In the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,653, the rodent enters the device via a gate member which regulates the path of the rodent such that once the rodent enters the bait device it is forced to proceed to the poisonous bait centrally located within the device and to exit via the same gate through which it entered. The bait must be inserted into the device prior to use.
The device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,026 is a horizontally elongated tubular member of rectangular cross section in which the poisonous material must be inserted by the user prior to installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,198 discloses a tamper-proof rodent bait station in which internal baffles, a sloped floor and a locking feature are used to guide the rodent to the poisonous bait and to prevent access to the poisonous bait from the exterior of the bait station.
None of these disclosures, however, teaches or suggests a ready-to-use device for controlling pests such as cockroaches. Further, baits present inherent problems in that sufficient pesticide must be ingested and that time for ingestion of a lethal dose is necessary.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a pest controlling device which could be used without the need for inserting pesticide and which was faster acting than the known bait devices.